Lobotomy Software

Lobotomy Software, Inc.
Industry Computer and video games
Interactive entertainment
Founded January 13, 1993
Defunct April 27, 1998
Headquarters Redmond, Washington, U.S.
Products PowerSlave

Lobotomy Software, Inc. was an American video game company responsible for the Sega Saturn ports of Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, and the original game PowerSlave (titled Exhumed in Europe).

History

Lobotomy Software was founded in 1993, when a group of friends working at Nintendo of America left to form their own company, becoming the creative department of Lobotomy, with the engineering talent coming from Manley & Associates[1] (Manley & Associates was later acquired by Electronic Arts in 1996, renamed Electronic Arts Seattle, and subsequently shut down in 2002). They originally worked out of co-founder Paul Lange's apartment, but after a few months set up an office in Redmond, Washington.[2] The team began working on various game demos, one of which later became the first-person shooter game, PowerSlave.[2]

PowerSlave was similar to Doom, though it featured an Egyptian theme. Shortly after PowerSlave was released, Sega secured the rights from GT Interactive to publish Duke Nukem 3D and Quake. Sega originally handed the projects to two other developers, but were unhappy with their work.[3][4] Once the media buzz around PowerSlave started to heat up, Sega saw potential in Lobotomy Software and let them work on the two games. Deadlines for the two games were set just a few months apart, and as such their development considerably overlapped.[4]

The Sega Saturn ports of Quake and Duke Nukem 3D both used the SlaveDriver engine Lobotomy had created for the console versions of PowerSlave and were well received. Lobotomy Software had ported Quake to the Sony PlayStation, but could not find a publisher, which exasperated their financial troubles.[5]

In 1998, Lobotomy Software was acquired by the now defunct Crave Entertainment and renamed "Lobotomy Studios". The team worked on a Caesar's Palace gambling game for the Nintendo 64, but after a year of development, the game was postponed and eventually cancelled. At that point, Lobotomy Studios was closed and employees were let go or given the option to be relocated to another position at Crave Entertainment. The next title that the team would have worked on was a sequel to PowerSlave simply titled "PowerSlave 2", which was going to be a Third person shooter and using a different game engine.[6]

Games

Title Details
PowerSlave

Original release date:
September 26, 1996		 Release years by system:
1996 – Sega Saturn, PC (MS-DOS)
1997 – PlayStation
Notes:
  • First person shooter
  • Known as "Exhumed" in Europe and "1999: Return of the Pharaoh" in Japan
  • Published by Playmates in USA and BMG Interactive in Europe
  • PC version uses the Build Engine
  • Console versions use the custom SlaveDriver Engine
  • An Unofficial remake titled "PowerSlave EX" was released on PC (Windows) in 2015
Death Tank

Original release date:
September 26, 1996		 Release years by system:
1996 – Sega Saturn
Notes:
  • Artillery game
  • Available as an unlockable game in the Sega Saturn version of PowerSlave
  • An updated version titled Death Tank Zwei exists in the Sega Saturn version of Duke Nukem 3D
  • Supports up to seven players in multiplayer mode
  • Remade by Snowblind Studios for Xbox Live Arcade in 2009
Quake

Original release date:
October 31, 1997		 Release years by system:
1997 – Sega Saturn
Notes:
Duke Nukem 3D

Original release date:
October 31, 1997		 Release years by system:
1997 – Sega Saturn
Notes:

References

  1. ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/death-tanks-ezra-driesbach-interview
  2. 1 2 Leadbetter, Rich (December 1996). "Lobotomised!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 14. Emap International Limited. pp. 48–9.
  3. ↑ Leadbetter, Richard (February 1997). "1997 Starts with a Bang!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 16. Emap International Limited. p. 18.
  4. 1 2 Leadbetter, Rich (April 1997). "Lobotomy Interviewed! Duke Nukem Plans Revealed!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 18. Emap International Limited. p. 17.
  5. ↑ Interview with Ezra Dreisbach of Lobotomy Software
  6. ↑ "PowerSlave 2 in Development". GameFan. Vol. 5 no. 10. October 1997. p. 100.
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